Guild Wars 2 is a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by ArenaNet and published by NCSoft. The game is set in the fantasy world of Tyria, where the story follows the return of Destiny's Edge, a group of heroes who once fought against Elder Dragons—massive, powerful creatures that have taken control of Tyria. This story continues from the original Guild Wars game (2005) and ends with the third expansion, End of Dragons (2023). The game takes place in a world that changes over time, with events and story progress happening in separate, temporary areas.

Guild Wars 2 is the fourth main game in the Guild Wars series. It is unique among online games because its story changes based on how players act, a feature more common in single-player games. Instead of traditional quests, the game uses a dynamic event system, where actions in one part of the world can affect other areas. The combat system is designed to be more flexible, encouraging teamwork between different character roles and using the environment as a tool for fighting. It also simplifies the magic-based skill system from the original game.

Guild Wars 2 does not require a subscription fee, a feature it shared with its predecessor. Until August 2015, players had to purchase the game to install it. The game sold over two million copies in its first two weeks. By August 2013, it had 460,000 players at the same time. By August 2015, over five million copies had been sold, and the base game became free-to-play. By August 2021, more than 16 million player accounts had been created. On August 16, 2022, it was announced that Guild Wars 2 would be available on Steam as part of its 10th anniversary celebration.

Six major expansion packs have been released for the game: Heart of Thorns (2015), Path of Fire (2017), End of Dragons (2022), Secrets of the Obscure (2023), Janthir Wilds (2024), and Visions of Eternity (2025). Each expansion adds new content, such as new areas to explore, challenging end-game encounters, and mastery systems. The first three expansions also introduced new character roles, specializations, and "Living World" updates—ongoing story content that connects the expansions. In February 2023, it was announced that future expansions, starting with Secrets of the Obscure, would follow a new release model. Instead of releasing every two to four years, smaller expansions would be released more frequently at a slightly lower price. Additional content for these expansions would then be added through quarterly updates.

Gameplay

Guild Wars 2 lets players create characters by choosing from five races and nine professions. The five races include humans, charr (added in the Prophecies expansion), asura, norn (added in the Eye of the North expansion), and sylvari, a race only found in Guild Wars 2. The nine professions are grouped into three armor classes: "scholars" use light armor, "adventurers" use medium armor, and "soldiers" use heavy armor. Five of the professions return from Guild Wars. There is no specific class for healing because the developers wanted to avoid requiring every group to have a healer.

A player’s race and profession determine the skills they can use. Guild Wars 2, like Guild Wars, uses a skill-based combat system where players choose 10 skills from a larger list, requiring strategy. However, unlike Guild Wars, skill slots have set roles: the first five depend on the player’s weapon and profession, the sixth is for healing, the seventh through ninth are unlocked as the game progresses, and the tenth is an "elite" skill that starts locked. Guild Wars 2 focuses on the quality of skills rather than the number of skills, aiming to reduce balancing issues common in MMORPGs.

The level cap in Guild Wars was 20, but in Guild Wars 2, it is 80. This change allows for more character development without forcing players into repetitive, grind-heavy gameplay, which was a key goal in the original Guild Wars. In player versus environment battles, a scaling system adjusts player levels and stats to match monster levels, keeping difficulty consistent. In player versus player battles, all players use the same level (80) and have access to most skills and items, ensuring fairness.

Guild Wars 2 includes small-scale tactical PvP and "World versus World," a large-scale combat mode in a separate, persistent world. Players can join or leave battles quickly and build siege weapons, with rewards based on their success. The game offers eight crafting disciplines, and players can practice two at a time, but switching disciplines costs a fee. While basic recipes are available, players can experiment with ingredients to discover new recipes. Since Guild Wars 2 is set 250 years after its predecessor, players cannot transfer characters from Guild Wars. However, some achievements and honors from Guild Wars can be carried over if the accounts are linked.

The Heart of Thorns expansion added raids, which are challenging endgame content featuring bosses with unique mechanics that test teamwork, damage output, positioning, and player builds. Additional raid wings, Strike Missions (single-boss encounters), and more difficult Challenge Mode encounters have been released since then.

Plot

Guild Wars 2 is set in the high fantasy world of Tyria, 250 years after players defeated the Great Destroyer in the Eye of the North expansion. Five "Elder Dragons," which had been sleeping beneath the continent, have awakened since the original Guild Wars game. Their return has caused widespread destruction in Tyria and harmed its people. The humans, who were once the strongest in Tyria, are now weaker. They have lost much of their land due to natural disasters and wars with the Charr, who have taken back their ancestral homeland of Ascalon from the humans. In the north, the Norn, a proud race of Nordic hunters, have been forced to move south because of Jormag, the ice elder dragon. In the west, the technologically advanced Asura had to build homes above ground after Primordus, the first elder dragon to awaken, took control of the Depths of Tyria. Near the Asura’s forests live the Sylvari, a new race that appeared in Tyria 25 years ago. They are not affected by the problems facing other races, but they have an unexplained connection to the Elder Dragons.

To the south, the continent of Cantha is isolated due to a political climate that is closed off and distrustful of others. This isolation is strengthened by Zhaitan’s undead navy. The continent of Elona is also cut off. The only signs of its prosperity are the battle between the lich Palawa Joko’s Mordant Crescent and Kralkatorrik, the crystal dragon in the Crystal Desert, as well as occasional reports from the secretive Order of Whispers. The Battle Isles no longer exist because a tidal wave from the fallen kingdom of Orr, which re-emerged when Zhaitan awakened, wiped them off the map.

Time has passed since Guild Wars, and this is shown in changes to culture, such as clothing and armor, as well as advances in in-game technology and the use of a shared language.

Guild Wars 2 includes a large storyline called "The Elder Dragon Saga," which is told through the first three expansions and "Living World" seasons. These seasons are replayable updates that continue the story in an episodic format, connecting the expansions. The Elder Dragon Saga begins with the original game and ends in the expansion End of Dragons (2022).

In the core game, the player character is tasked with reuniting the members of the disbanded Destiny’s Edge, a multi-racial adventuring guild. Their reunion represents the unification of the playable races into "The Pact," a group needed to fight Zhaitan, the undead elder dragon.

After defeating Zhaitan, the player forms a new group to battle Scarlet Briar, an enigmatic and unstable Sylvari. Scarlet creates dangerous alliances, such as the "Molten Alliance" (Charr and Dredge) and the "Toxic Alliance" (Krait and a splinter group from the Nightmare Court). She also leads the "Aetherblades," steampunk sky pirates. As the player and their allies fight Scarlet, they learn about her past and her goals. The season ends with Scarlet attacking Lion’s Arch, leaving the city in ruins and awakening Mordremoth, a previously unknown elder dragon.

Season 2 of "Living World" begins with the player and their allies heading to the Maguuma Wastes to fight Mordremoth. The season starts with the crash of the "Zephyr Sanctum," a group of airships carrying followers of Kralkatorrik’s daughter, Glint. The player follows Scarlet Briar into Dry Top, learning about the elder dragons and her motivations. They also discover that the Zephyrites were transporting an egg laid by Glint before her death. At the end of the season, the Pact prepares to fight another elder dragon, but the Pact fleet is destroyed by Mordremoth.

After Season 2, the Pact fleet is in ruins in the Maguuma Jungle. Mordremoth sends its minions, the Mordrem, to take control of the jungle and the Sylvari. The Pact commander rebuilds their forces, explores the jungle, and learns about Glint’s egg, which was taken by Caithe. They discover the hidden city of Tarir, built to protect Glint’s offspring. At the end of the expansion, the Pact commander enters Mordremoth’s mind and destroys him, scattering his magic across Tyria, some of which is absorbed by Glint’s egg in Tarir.

The expansion Heart of Thorns introduces raids that form an optional side story, leading into Living World Season 3.

Living World Season 3 begins a year after the events of Heart of Thorns. It covers the aftermath of the expansion, the effects of the deaths of two elder dragons, a political coup, a human civil war, and the return of Lazarus the Dire, a member of the thought-to-be-extinct Mursaat race. During the season, Glint’s egg hatches into a baby dragon named Aurene, Glint’s daughter. It is revealed that Lazarus is actually Balthazar, a human god who has turned against the elder dragons to take their power.

After Season 3, the Pact commander stops Balthazar’s plan to destroy the elder dragons but now faces Balthazar’s army in the Crystal Desert. While humans struggle with Balthazar’s return, the commander chases him to prevent his crusade from disrupting Tyria’s magic. The commander tricks the undead lich Palawa Joko into being trapped in the underworld. During the expansion, the commander learns more about Glint’s secrets, including Aurene’s role in replacing the elder dragons. At the end, Aurene and the commander kill Balthazar.

Balthazar’s death releases a large amount of magical energy, most of which is absorbed by Glint’s egg in Tarir.

Development

The decision to create Guild Wars 2 began during a design meeting for Guild Wars Utopia, when the company was releasing campaigns every six months. The team realized they could not complete all their goals within the limits of their previous campaign scope and the short time available. At the suggestion of Jeff Strain, they discussed how adding more features to stand-alone campaigns made tutorials more complicated and harder to balance. This discussion eventually led to plans for a completely new game.

Work on Guild Wars 2 started in 2007. It was announced on March 27, 2007, along with the final Guild Wars expansion, which was meant to connect the game’s story and gameplay to Guild Wars 2. The development team stopped using early open alpha and beta tests, which they had used for Guild Wars. ArenaNet believed player expectations for open beta tests had changed, so beta tests were no longer used to test the game but to show a nearly finished version before release. Beta tests planned for 2008 were canceled to ensure Guild Wars 2 would have the greatest impact on players. Guild Wars 2 uses a modified version of the game engine developed for Guild Wars by ArenaNet. Changes to the engine include real-time 3D environments, better graphics and animations, and the Havok physics system. Developers say the engine now matches the game’s concept art and that the art will be used to tell the story.

In August 2009, two years after the game was first announced, ArenaNet decided the game was ready to show to the public. A trailer mixing animated concept art and in-game footage was released at Gamescom, followed by interviews about the game’s lore and player races.

In November 2009, NCsoft CEO Jaeho Lee said the game would likely not release until 2011, but a closed beta would be available in 2010. A playable demo was shown at Gamescom, Penny Arcade Expo, and Paris Games Week in 2010. The game was developed for Microsoft Windows, with a small team exploring a console version.

ArenaNet held small closed alpha and beta tests in 2011. On January 23, 2012, it was announced that Guild Wars 2 would be released in 2012. In February, select press were invited to beta test. In March and April, beta tests expanded to include anyone who pre-purchased the game. On June 28, 2012, ArenaNet announced the game would be released on August 28, 2012, with pre-purchasers able to play on August 25.

On September 18, 2012, a beta version of the Mac OS X client for Guild Wars 2 was released. Support for the Mac OS version was later removed in 2021 because Mac OS no longer supported OpenGL rendering.

Guild Wars 2 originally received content updates every two weeks, but now releases large updates every few months, with smaller patches and bug fixes in between. Content updates often include new items for sale in the gem store and unique events for players. Some updates add new mechanics, such as new dungeons or combat options.

In the Lost Shores update on November 16, 2012, a new dungeon called Fractals of the Mists was added. This dungeon includes many smaller "mini-dungeons" called Fractals. Each Fractal has its own story and environment, and players must complete them in order to unlock the next randomly chosen Fractal. After completing three Fractals, a new set of more challenging Fractals is unlocked. This update also introduced a new equipment rarity called Ascended, which can be obtained through various sources, most easily from the Fractals of the Mists dungeon.

The Flame and Frost: Prelude update on January 28, 2013, added several features, including achievement laurels, guesting, and new "living story" content. Achievement laurels are earned by completing daily and monthly achievements and can be used to buy items like Ascended equipment. Guesting allows players to temporarily join their friends’ servers without moving their home server. A gem fee was added for transferring homes to other servers. The update also introduced Living Story content, which includes events players must complete within a set time. After the time passes, the story progresses, unlocking new content while previous content becomes unavailable, though the story’s effect on the world remains. Living World content provides an ongoing story for players to follow.

The Flame and Frost: The Gathering Storm and Flame and Frost: The Razing updates in February and March 2013 added guild missions, a new progression system for WvW, and advanced the Flame and Frost living story. Guild missions let guilds earn merits by completing bounties and puzzles, which guild leaders can use to unlock rewards. The WvW progression system introduced World XP and new ranks that unlock titles and abilities. New WvW achievements were also added.

The Flame and Frost: Retribution update in April 2013 introduced a limited-time dungeon, new guild missions, additional WvW abilities, and new purchasable siege weapons and guild banners for WvW. The new dungeon, Molten Weapons Facility, was available for thirteen days and tied to the final part of the Flame and Frost living story.

In May 2013, the Secret of Southsun update began a new living story, followed by Last Stand at Southsun. This update also added changes to WvW, including traps in battlegrounds, improved World XP, better rewards, and the ability to use special Ascended and infused equipment in WvW.

In June 2013, the Dragon Bash and Sky Pirates of Tyria updates introduced new living story content and features like improved

Reception

Guild Wars 2 received high praise from many people when it was released. It earned a score of 90 out of 100 on Metacritic.

PC Gamer’s Chris Thursten gave the game a 94% rating, calling it a well-made and enjoyable online role-playing game that brings back the best parts of the genre. IGN’s Charles Onyett rated the game 9 out of 10, saying it is one of the most detailed and rewarding online games ever made. It does not unfairly punish players and encourages exploration with a generous reward system and beautiful environments. GameSpot’s Kevin VanOrd described the game as a great place for people who love exploring and exciting adventures, and gave it a 9.0 out of 10.

Computer and Video Games’ editor Andy Kelly gave the game an 8.9 out of 10, noting that it makes repetitive tasks more enjoyable with clever design. He also said the lack of a monthly fee makes the game even more appealing. GamesRadar’s Hollander Cooper wrote that the game includes everything a good online role-playing game should have. It is original, large in scope, and social, removing barriers that made the genre less enjoyable. It allows players of all levels and classes to play together, which is a major improvement. He gave it a 4.5 out of 5. GameSpy’s Leif Johnson said the game’s problems do not take away from how enjoyable it is. It keeps the traditions of the genre but presents them in a more lively way.

Time magazine listed Guild Wars 2 as the top video game of 2012. Editor Matt Peckham wrote that the game changes daily life in a surprising way, like a meteor hitting a satellite. It feels like a living world and makes players want to explore anywhere and anytime.

At the 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Guild Wars 2 for the “Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year” award.